Twin Thing
by ThatisneverThat
Summary: Clara reluctantly does one favour for her twin sister Bonnie. Neither of them expects the events that follow to happen at all, let alone in the way they do. It's a small world after all... {Twelve/Clara / Bonnie/Danny}
1. Chapter 1

_**Okay I need to clear up a few things here.**_

 _ **I finished writing this chapter, reread it, and realised I want to clear up that if you've read xXdreameaterXx's fic Double Trouble this is by no means an attempt to rip it off! Hopefully that will become clear over the chapters.**_

 _ **Actually that was it… never mind. Enjoy!**_

"I don't get it why am I doing this?" Clara asked her sister. "We haven't done _this_ since high school."

Bonnie handed her the glass of wine and sat down, "because you owe me."

"High school Bonnie, that was at high school," she groaned. "Plus you slept with the guy, why are you complaining? And you didn't have to pretend to be me!"

"Oh yeah…" Bonnie smirked. "Well anyway, I really don't want to go on this date but I can't get out of it - that's where you come in."

Clara sipped her wine, "and why do you think I do want to go on it?"

"Oh I don't think you do, he's really dull and like almost twice our age, but I can't physically be in two places at once - but it can look like I am," she winked at her sister and grinned.

Why was she even considering this? Clara had done one too many favours for her sister over the years when she'd got herself into messes but this was a whole step up from picking Bonnie up at 3am. "So you've double booked yourself then. Why don't you just tell the first guy you can't go anymore?"

"It's a long story. Please Clara it's just one date - you get a free meal out of it and neither of us has to see him again after. The second guy is _amazing_. He's so gorgeous, really fit and super sweet," Bonnie begged, putting her puppy eyes on.

Clara groaned, "fine! But there had better be more wine where this came from to make sure I don't change my mind before tomorrow."

#-#-#-#

Honestly, she wasn't sure what was worse - agreeing to go on this date or having to let Bonnie dress her. The tight dress was not her usual go-to outfit on a date or pretty much any situation, but tonight she was Bonnie Oswald and tonight she had to pretend to be comfortable. As they dressed up, her sister filled her in on everything she needed to know about her work and how she knew this mysterious John. "Wait so he's a client? Won't that be weird when you see him at work?"

"Ex-client. We finished the job last week. Don't worry he's one of the nice ones - just a little dull," Bonnie shrugged while applying lipstick to her sister.

"You don't need to keep reminding me of that fact, I'm sure I'll be reminded enough later. Are you done now? This all seems a bit excessive," Clara sighed. She turned to the mirror and almost wanted to take back her previous sentence - she did look really hot.

Bonnie admired her work proudly, "and now there are two of me."

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes Clara stood up from the chair and went over to check her bag. There had always been two of Bonnie, Clara had never needed to duplicate herself - at least not in a way that Bonnie would be useful for. As such, when they were younger Clara always got mistaken for her sister, but rarely did it occur the other way round. Clara Oswald lived in the shadow of her twin. Even to this day Bonnie was the 'successful child' because being a teacher was evidently not as important as a beauty business entrepreneur. Granted her sister did have her company spread across 4 countries now, but the whole thing did not excite Clara one bit. She'd also seen the way her sister worked and she did not like it - to be honest she was surprised any of her clients would want to go on a date with her, even the old and dull ones.

"Red or blue?" Bonnie perked up from the other side of the room. Clara looked confused, "cars. You don't remember the names so I went for colours."

"Why can't I just take my bike?" Clara groaned.

Her sister looked disgusted. "In that dress? You are not putting leathers over the top of that my dear. No no no. So which car?"

"I really don't care. Which one is slower?" she asked. Bonnie had a thing about sports cars these days.

"Red it is," she chucked the keys over. "Right I'd better go. House key is on there too to lock up, but don't think about coming back after."

"I have no intention on walking in on whatever you plan on doing," Clara replied.

"Bye little sis!" Bonnie chirped.

"12 minutes. You are 12 minutes older," Clara spoke through gritted teeth to absolutely nobody while she finished getting ready.

Eventually she plucked up the courage to leave the house, locking up behind her and reluctantly getting into the red car in the garage and driving out to the restaurant. Bonnie insisted that she had to be late to make sure he saw the car which seemed pointless when there was no intention of any second date, but late she did arrive - parking up and going inside the restaurant where she recognised the man from his pictures. Clara took a deep breath, cleared her throat and walked over to where he stood up by their table. "John! So lovely to see you again," she smiled and they kissed on the cheek. He was a lot better looking in person, Clara observed.

"Bonnie you look absolutely wonderful, have a seat - I got your favourite wine," he gestured to the bottle. Clara knew how expensive that wine was, maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all.

"Too kind John," she smiled, sitting down and placing her bag out of the way. "How have you been? We miss having you cheering up the meetings." That was a lie - Bonnie was glad to be rid by the way she spoke about him, but she also told Clara to be polite.

He poured her wine and smiled, "I'm sure they're not as fun anymore although no doubt you're busy anyway."

"Mmm definitely," Clara sipped on her wine. "Never stops. How are you anyway?" She was desperate not to have to talk shop for too long.

John started speaking about his company, most of which completely bypassed Clara but she didn't mind listening to him. There was a light Scottish lilt to his voice which was almost hypnotising to listen to. They paused briefly to order their food before returning to the conversation. "So then Bonnie, what do you get up to outside of work?"

"Oh a lot of relaxing, I'm a big fan of a movie night. But I also don't say no to a good night out. Love a bit of both worlds," Clara smiled over her wine. "How about you?"

"Well I have to say it's been a few years since I've been on a night out, but I'm also a big fan of a movie night. Do a lot of reading too, I'm right at home with a classic novel and a cup of tea - as boring as that might sound to a young adventurer like you," John replied. Clara internally wished she could jump into a conversation about Jane Austen but had to bite her tongue. Why was this man so lovely?

She looked back up at him, realising she'd taken a bit too long to reply. "I'm sure they're good, can't say I own too many books myself." That honestly felt like the worst lie she'd ever told.

"Well maybe I'll have to challenge you to read my favourite," he smiled a little flirtatiously.

Clara couldn't help but smile back, "maybe you will." Why did she say that? She wasn't meant to see him again.

"Alright then - Pride and Prejudice. I have a copy in my car I can lend you," he told her. She didn't say no, Bonnie was going to hate her.

Over the night it turned out they had more in common and it was driving Clara crazy. How Bonnie could describe him as boring she would never know. He was gorgeous, interesting and made her laugh. They had a wonderful meal, chatting all the way through and John even escorted her back to the car at the end, getting the book for her on the way. "Call me when you've finished," he told her and they parted ways.

Clara sat in Bonnie's car and didn't move straight away. This was a big mistake, she couldn't see him again even if she wanted to - and she really wanted to. She also had no need for the copy of Pride and Prejudice currently sat on the passenger seat as she had 3 at home and 2 at school (not including the student copies). She was interrupted by her phone ringing and let out an audible groan as she reached over to pick it up - surprised to see her sister's name on the screen.

"Not taken him back for a good time then?" Clara answered the phone with a little smirk.

Bonnie could almost hear her facial expression, "very funny. Actually he's a very genuine guy and I decided to play it cool. We're going out again next weekend. Want to come round and I can gloat about how much better my night was than yours?"

"Ergh I hate you," she started to do her seatbelt up.

"And yet you're still coming. See you soon," Bonnie hung up and Clara sighed, driving off to her.

Greeted by a glass of wine, Clara sat down on the sofa and flicked her heels off. "Alright then, brag away."

And she did. Bonnie spoke about how gorgeous this Danny was, how he'd been in the army and come back to settle down. In fact she talked a lot and Clara just listened and drunk her wine. In her defence he did sound like a very decent guy, but Clara's mind kept drifting back to John.

 _ **Hope you enjoyed. Let me know what you think, this is very different to anything I've ever written.**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Thank you for the lovely reviews and follows. I was going to update another story first but I can't wait to continue this so here we go….**_

Bonnie left her sister in the flat and made her way off to her date. Hopefully after tonight John would be out of the way and she could stop dreading another email from him. The guy was sweet but he was not dating material. She would feel bad for Clara but right now Bonnie was on her way to meet a gorgeous bloke so her sister would just have to cope. Besides, John was loaded and would spoil her.

When she arrived at the restaurant Danny was already waiting. He had a suit on and Bonnie couldn't help but smile at how gorgeous he looked. "Evening," Bonnie gave him a flirtatious look as she greeted him.

"You look wonderful," he moved her chair for her to sit down. "I hope the wine is okay for you," he poured her a glass. Bonnie smiled, he'd gone all out - this wine wasn't cheap.

"It's lovely thank you, how was your day?" she asked.

Danny sipped his wine and nodded, "yeah not bad. Just a lot of prep to do for the new job," he told her.

Bonnie nodded, "I sort of understand. I haven't really ever started a new job though," she chuckled.

"Well no, but I'm sure there's a lot of stuff to do for you all the time," he pointed out. "You're a very clever woman - I've been doing my homework. The way you built that business up from the ground on your own, very determined - takes guts that."

She smiled thankfully, "seeing as you know about me, tell me more about you. New job?"

Danny nodded, "yes I've just moved to the area. Recently left the army, needed a new direction - fresh start if you'll excuse the cliché."

"Oh yeah I get you, sometimes it's easier that way. So how long were you in the army? That's very admirable," Bonnie smiled.

Shrugging, Danny took another sip of wine. "It's my past now. You get a little sick of the 'you've done a great thing for your country' speeches. Did you grow up around here?"

They chatted for the evening and the army wasn't bought up again, but Bonnie did admire him. An army man and good looks, she was having a brilliant night. They continued chatting away over dinner. "So why London then? If you were based down south why not stay by the beach?" Bonnie asked him as they finished up.

"Too close to home. I wanted to get away from there and make things new - meet new people," he smiled and made eye contact. "Especially beautiful women."

"Multiple?" she suggested.

"Maybe just the one now," he replied as they didn't break eye contact. "You're very intriguing Bonnie Oswald."

"That's what I aim for, then you have to see me again to find out more," she winked at him, a small smirk on her lips.

Bonnie could tell that her charm was working. "I suppose we need a second date then. Say… next Friday? I'll need to relax after my first week of work." He suggested.

"Sounds perfect to me. But before that, shall we check out the dessert menu?" she smiled. He was definitely paying now.

"A girl after my own heart," he winked and sat back.

#-#-#-#

Once Clara had gone home Bonnie sat back on her sofa, slightly confused. Her sister was not meant to enjoy that date, but she wasn't exactly complaining either. They weren't exactly going to see each other again, however Bonnie was hoping for a more satisfying result - she loved to get one over on her sister.

Refilling her wine glass she walked over to large window which looked out over the town below. She could see the restaurant she'd been at tonight from here and couldn't help but smile. It was the best date she'd been on in years, also the first one in quite a while where she hadn't bought the guy back. This was different, the teasing was fun and it might just be worth holding out for Danny. He had stories to tell and she wanted to hear them, they would definitely be more interesting than Dr John Smith's dull stories about his travels - she certainly wasn't disappointed to have missed them tonight. Clara didn't talk much about what he said or what they talked about, but maybe that was one good sign for her.

She had to admit it was quite fun to dress up Clara like her. Sure, her fashion sense wasn't _awful_ but seeing her in a short skirt and showing a bit more cleavage was just unheard of until tonight. Of course she'd snapped it when Clara wasn't looking for future amusement at family meets, it might mean Bonnie would actually attend one purely for the pleasure. Clara had always been the 'innocent' child who could do no wrong. Bonnie was adventurous and ever since she could walk she'd been off, often dragging a reluctant Clara with her which is exactly how they'd ended up on tonight. Bonnie couldn't help but laugh at how easy it was to get her on side, how she ever controlled a class at school she would never know. Now she just had to sit and wait for Monday morning, because Monday morning was going to be great. Sadly there were a whole 24 hours before Monday, but she had a plan.

#-#-#-#

"We haven't seen this much of each other since before uni, what's going on?" Clara asked when she turned up on Bonnie's doorstep. "You know I have planning to do."

"Don't talk rubbish you probably finished 2 weeks ago," Bonnie replied and moved for her to come in. "I just wanted to make up for sending you on such a boring date so I made lunch."

"You cooked?!" Clara looked at her, shocked. "Where did you buy it from?"

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Alright so I went to Ribbiani's and had it made but the thought was there. You don't really want to eat my food."

"No, I don't." Clara shrugged her coat off and hung it up. "Alright then I'm starving but I know you're lying about something, you've never apologised in your life."

It was an interesting relationship between them. They weren't the best of friends but they had always been pretty close in their own way - definitely their own way. Nobody else quite understood Clara and Bonnie. When they weren't trying to tell the two of them apart it was apparent to a lot of people that both of them had a secret dislike for the way the other twin had worked out.

"I'm obviously changing," Bonnie smirked and went through to the kitchen to serve up the food. "Still, John is something else."

"That he is," Clara replied, "he talks about his travelling a lot."

Bonnie groaned, "I know. I've heard about it all, twice. Every meeting must have been a good 30% longer by those stories." They sat down with lunch and started eating. "You didn't _enjoy_ yesterday did you?" she finally questioned her.

"I enjoyed the free food and wine," Clara shrugged.

"Mmm, fair enough," Bonnie studied her sister, trying to work out what was going on in her head.

Clara stared kept eating, internally beating herself up. She had enjoyed last night, and she couldn't stop thinking about that damn doctor.

 ** _Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave a review it makes me smile!_**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry about the delay, I'm now trying to write 4 fanfics simultaneously… I don't know how this happened. Anyway, thanks for the reviews and I hope you enjoy x**

Bonnie spent the whole morning waiting for her phone to go, but when it did she was less than happy with what she saw.

 _Thanks for a lovely night, hope you're enjoying the book ;) Dr J._

"Clara Oswald you-"

"Bonnie you're needed over here," she was interrupted by a member of staff. Bonnie growled, slamming her phone down on the desk and going over to see what was going on.

#-#-#-#

Clara was very confused. Bonnie was being… nice, and Bonnie didn't do nice - even to her own twin. To be quite honest they'd barely seen each other in months until she called asking for this favour, and now she'd been over 3 times in one weekend. Their relationship was ridiculous from an outsiders point of view, but it worked. They weren't your conventional twins, but they also - to some extent - knew what the other was thinking, which was why she knew Bonnie was lying about something, but she couldn't put her finger on it. She didn't have time to consider her options right now as the bell rang and teenagers started to file into the room and her thought process went from her sister to Romeo and Juliet - a different kind of messy romance.

Thankfully after the lesson was lunchtime and she couldn't wait to get in the staffroom and hide from the kids. For some reason they were driving her mad today, her mind wasn't in it whatever she tried.

"You do not look yourself," Adrian sat beside her.

"Thanks," Clara replied, playing around with the salad infront of her. She noted how he looked slightly embarrassed beside her at her response so she decided to expand slightly, "just got a lot on my mind. Family stuff."

"Need to chat?" he asked, but Clara never got a chance to reply.

Arthur, the headteacher, interrupted their conversation. "Clara, can I introduce you to someone?" That wasn't really a question. She put her salad down and stood up, putting a smile on her face. Arthur reached over to grab the attention of the man stood near to them. Clara didn't recognise him - must have been new. Why was she being introduced anyway? Doing her own job was difficult enough today without having to play tour guide. The man turned around and immediately looked very confused when he saw Clara. "Danny Pink this is Clara Oswald - the fount of all knowledge. If you have any questions she's your woman. Clara, Danny's new - I trust you to look after him. I have places to be," Arthur disappeared leaving Clara and Danny stood together.

"Clara?" he questioned.

Clara noted his slightly flirtatious look. "Yes, problem with that?" she replied - quite confused.

"Bonnie?" he asked again.

Now it made sense. "Oh, soldier boy," she relaxed a little. "Guess my sister failed to mention she had a twin," Clara explained. Danny suddenly looked very embarrassed, "relax. She likes to play games with me, not your fault. If it helps I think Bonnie actually likes you."

Danny relaxed slightly, "really?"

"Oh absolutely, but I refuse to get any more involved. I'm sorry she didn't tell you about me, but I guarantee it was nothing against you," Clara rolled her eyes. "I'll give her a ring in a bit. How are you enjoying this place?"

"Staff are great, children are terrifying, English teacher still creeping me out slightly," Danny chuckled.

Clara grinned, "I'll keep working on that. As for the children, that never changes - you just learn to control the fear."

"Noted. I'll leave you to finish your lunch now - see you around," he left the room and Clara sat down, groaning. That was why her sister was being so nice. Why hadn't she just told Danny the truth on their date?

#-#-#-#

"Yeah well, you didn't tell John who you were either," Bonnie pointed out.

Clara shook her head, "very different situation. I'm not seeing him again."

"Oh yeah?" Bonnie replied, showing her sister the text she'd received from John that morning. "Funny way of showing it." She spotted the book sticking out of Clara's bag and reached for it. Despite trying to move out of her grasp Bonnie managed to get the book and pulled it out. "What the hell Clara, you've got like 6 copies of your own? Why would you-" she stopped and gasped. "You actually like him! Ew!"

She grabbed the book back in frustration and put it away, "I was being polite, and pretending to be you! You've never read it so I wasn't lying. That is not what I came round here to discuss."

"Well I'm the one getting his messages," Bonnie argued. "You can't keep the book either, so you'll have to see him again because I'm not doing it."

Clara felt her heart skip a beat at the mention of it. Why was she reacting like that? He was just some guy that she'd gone for a meal with as a favour to her sister. Oh, but he had a fantastic interest in literature…

"Clara! Are you listening to me? I'll sort you out a meal on Friday night so you can give it back. Come over after work so I can make you look gorgeous. See you then," Bonnie replied and shut the door on her before Clara could refuse.

And that's why Clara sat where she was, on a Friday night, in a different restaurant to last week with John's copy of Pride and Prejudice in front of her on the table. She had ended up reading it over the last couple of evenings, unable to resist the sight of it poking out of her bag. Bonnie had text her to say John was running a few minutes late so she was waiting alone having ordered the wine in and gently flicking through the pages of the book. "So you finished it then." Clara almost jumped when John's voice broke through behind her. "Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt your thoughts. It's a good book, a beautiful piece of literature."

"I don't have a lot to compare it to," Clara shrugged, really wishing she could say more.

John sat down opposite her and poured himself a glass of wine, topping Clara's up also. "It's a hard one to follow I'll be honest. There are a few options if you want to give them a go. If you want something completely different I'm a big fan of 1984," he told her and Clara automatically groaned in response, although immediately stopped herself when she realised what she was doing.

"You've read it?" John asked, surprised at her response.

"I… at school, I guess. Been a long time, not my favourite," she got out, panicking slightly.

John nodded and the conversation was thankfully ended when the waiter came over to take their orders. After that most of the talk was about John and his travelling which took the heat off Clara trying to lie about her knowledge of books. It was while they were eating that the mood suddenly changed.

"I'll be honest Bonnie, you are a very different person outside of the office," John commented as they both took another mouthful. Clara had to be careful not to choke on her pasta when he said that. "If I'm honest, slightly more enjoyable to be around - not as shouty." Clara had to stifle a laugh, he basically described the difference between her and Bonnie in one sentence. "But-" there it was, "-you do seem a lot less confident. Is everything alright?"

She sighed, "yeah, sorry. This is different, I um," she put her fork down. "Look I should tell you something John."

"No, it's alright I understand. Always a bit of a stretch asking you out given the age difference and-"

"No, that's not-"

"Bonnie it's fine, but just understand I need to leave now. I'll pay for the food on the way out, take your time."

Before she could say anything John was up and gone and Clara put her head in her hands. Apart from the obvious embarrassment of the situation, she'd completely screwed that up. Maybe it was for the best…


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you for reviews! You're lovely people :) Time for some things to become clear...**

The morning after that disastrous meal, Clara made her way to the supermarket and started fairly mindlessly walking around grabbing things she needed. Her mind was completely elsewhere, to the point that she didn't spot the person she walked into until it was too late. "I'm so sorry," she leant down to pick up the things he had dropped. Only when she looked up to hand them back did she see who it was. "Oh, hello Doctor Smith."

"You normally refuse to call me that," he questioned. Clara cursed under her breath, Bonnie had told her that. "Can I have my things now?"

"Right, yes - sorry," she stood up and handed them over. "I'd better get going," Clara started to walk away.

John quickly caught her up, "your basket?" he handed it to her. "Is everything okay? You really don't seem yourself."

"I am not who you think I am John, just leave it please," she replied.

"I did try calling to apologise-"

That was it, she snapped. "I'm not Bonnie! Alright? I haven't been Bonnie all along. It's all been a lie and I can't do it anymore. Why would she ever shop here? And I'm telling you the day I get her to read Pride and Prejudice will be a miracle. We're twins, we're very different and she practically bribed me to go on that date with you. So there you go, now you know and you can both hate me together while I go home and do some marking." Clara dropped her basket where she was standing and left the shop and a very confused John.

She didn't go home, instead, she stormed straight round to Bonnie's house and banged on the door constantly until it was opened. That's when she received her second surprise of the day. "Danny I um-"

"I'll get Bonnie…" he backed away from the door. Clara quickly tried to shake the sight of her half naked colleague out of her mind.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Bonnie hissed when she appeared in her dressing gown. "I'm busy."

It was difficult to resist rolling her eyes but Clara didn't. "Yeah, I gathered and I really don't want to think about that. I'm just here to tell you that I told John the truth. Well, I told him I wasn't you. I couldn't keep lying Bonnie, it's just not me." Her sister stood with her mouth slightly agasp - Clara had never stood up to her like that. "Go back and have fun with the maths teacher," she immediately turned and walked away.

#-#-#-#

Ignoring Bonnie's calls and emails had become something of a habit over the last couple of weeks and quite frankly she was considering blocking her number by this point. There was no way she was going back into that situation - it was her sister's problem now.

Today she'd stayed late at work to get some loose ends tied up and the peace and quiet of a mostly empty school was a good place to do it. In fact, it was rare she ever got interrupted so she was surprised when there was movement at her classroom door. She looked up and immediately groaned at the sight of her sister. "Danny's classroom is around the corner," she replied.

"I know, just come from there," Bonnie shrugged and that was when Clara realised how messy her outfit looked.

"Ergh you are disgusting. Just leave if you're leaving, I'm busy," she replied and looked back to her laptop screen where an equally frustrating essay was waiting for her marking.

Bonnie didn't leave. "I did actually come to talk to you. Just got a little… distracted." A small scoff escaped her mouth but Clara otherwise decided not to reply. "For goodness sake, you're ridiculously childish."

"Says the woman who has phoned me about 6 times daily for 2 and a half weeks," Clara did respond without looking up.

"Yes because John bloody Smith will not leave me alone until he talks to you!" she practically shouted. "I blocked his number and he started emailing my work address so for crying out loud give the man a ring," she placed a bit of paper on Clara's desk.

A little glance up confirmed that it contained John's number. "why on earth would he want to talk to me?"

"Beats me, but for the love of all that is good just do it so he will leave me alone. Now if you'll excuse me I have places to be," Bonnie turned around and left.

Clara stared at the bit of paper, gently touching it with her fingers. He wanted to see her again, why would he want that after what she'd done. Everything he knew about her was a lie and yet… "oh, has Bonnie gone?" Danny was at the door now.

She rolled her eyes, "yes. Unless we've swapped places, you'll never know," Clara winked at him. It was the only amusement she had around this place and Danny actually annoyed her a little bit, so it was quite fun really.

"Bonnie would not be seen dead in your current outfit and you know it," he replied.

Clara grinned, "you reckon?" Now there was just a small glimmer of doubt in his mind she grinned, "go on - if you run you might catch her. "

Once he'd gone she decided to pack up and head home, slipping the number into her pocket carefully - she needed to think about this over a glass of wine.

#-#-#-#

Three days on and she still hadn't decided what to do. It was Saturday and she had no plans so she was spending time with her marking, her sofa and the TV. Her mind would occasionally drift back to Doctor John Smith and number currently sitting beside her kettle. It was making marking really quite difficult if she was honest. Clara had finally settled into some sort of routine when someone knocked on her door.

Figuring it was probably one of her neighbours seeing as she hadn't buzzed anyone up and regrettably moved things out of her way to go and answer it. She was wrong. "John? How-"

"Your sister gave me your address Clara, I think she was a little fed up with my pestering," he explained.

"I figured that. How did you get in here?" she asked, moving for him to come into her flat.

John entered and Clara shut the door while he replied, "oh. Someone let me in, I hope this is okay I know it all seems a little stalkerish but I couldn't leave things where they were."

Was it okay? She had no idea, but he was here now and Clara had invited him in so there was no going back now. "Do you want tea?"

"That would be amazing thank you, I walked over here and it turns out it was further than I thought," he blushed a little.

Clara chuckled, "you fool. Sit down, I'll put the kettle on."

While Clara left to the kitchen, John made his way to sit down as she had gestured, but couldn't resist a small look around the room. There were photos around, three sat proudly on a shelf together - one appeared to be of a young Clara and Bonnie with their parents, but in the other two Bonnie was not present, at least he assumed it wasn't her - it seemed unlikely. One of these was an older Clara, maybe mid-teens, she was sat on a hospital bed hugging her Dad and her Mum who appeared to be the ill one. The final photo was just Clara and her Dad. They were in chronological order, and John wondered if that was significant. Around the room, there was no other evidence of Clara's twin other than that one photo which seemed a little strange.

When she returned with the tea he had just sat down leaving no evidence of his intrigue. "I'm sorry to intrude, I see you've been busy," he looked to her pile of marking.

"Any excuse for a break from this pile of essays. I detest 1984, sorry to break it to you. Too many years of this mess," she shut her laptop up. "Don't know why, but they're always a pig to mark."

John took a sip of her tea, "so then, Miss Oswald. English teacher?"

Busted. "Yep, load of rubbish I blurted out that night. I hate pretending to be my sister, and I _really_ hate pretending not to like reading. That was a hard couple of hours for me."

"So you'd read Pride and Prejudice before then?" he asked.

Clara grinned and stood up again, going into her bedroom quickly and bringing out all her copies to show him. "Once or twice," she told him as she joined him back on the sofa. "It was my Mum's favourite book. I read it for the first time at 8 years old, with her helping me of course. She introduced me to so many wonderful books, but we always ended up back at Pride and Prejudice. It's the same today, I don't know how many times I've read it."

"Why do you have three copies though?" he asked honestly.

Knowing that question was coming, she lay them out on the table in front of her. "This is the first copy I was ever given. My Mum bought it for my 9th birthday and I treasured it. Read it so much through my childhood that it began to wear out. She died when I was sixteen and before she went, without me knowing, she bought a new copy," she pointed to the second book, "and she wrote a note inside it. Dad gave it to me on the day of the funeral like she'd asked him to. For 5 years it went everywhere with me, even if I wasn't reading it. The third copy I just bought for myself. I teach it at school so I needed a copy. I have a fourth at school which is absolutely full of notes, so I leave that there."

John nodded, he'd sort of expected the information about her Mum from the photos. "You were close to your Mum?"

Normally Clara was defensive when talking about her Mum, but for some reason, she didn't feel like that with John. "Very, Dad says I'm pretty much a mini her. Bonnie never got on so well with Mum, not that she got on very well with anyone when she was younger."

"Nothing much changed then," he smiled. "So did you two get on?"

"Surprisingly yes, most of the time anyway when we were younger. About fourteen we started to drift, but before that, we were really close," Clara shrugged. "We both changed a lot."

"You are very different people," John agreed. "But I do prefer one of you."


End file.
